Criterium at Forsyth Park features high speeds, tight curves and rough pavement.

The course calls for a "NASCAR mentality," said Dr. Jerry Cohn, a vascular surgeon at Memorial Health, and one of the race organizers.

Competitors will start on Drayton with a south-bound sprint, brake hard for the 90-degree turn onto Park Avenue, put on a quick turn of speed to get to Whitaker Street and its straightaway, and then grab the brakes to get onto Gaston before swinging back onto Drayton.

It's a technical, demanding course, said Cohn, one that calls for speed and strategy.

The stretch along Park Avenue will be particularly demanding, said Cohn, a competitive cyclist. The street is irregular and in some places is down to exposed brick, an element reminiscent of the "pave" found in classic European races like Paris- Roubaix.

The best riders will attack along these portions, said Cohn, taking advantage of their experience and technical skills.

More than 300 cyclists - divided into eight categories - will gear up for the Criterium and the other three races, said Gentry Arnette, the event's promoter. The field will include amateur and professional cyclists from throughout the Southeast.

Forsyth Park will be the "marquee event" of the weekend, said Arnette. "We hope there will be a lot of spectators out to enjoy the races, as well as some of the other activities planned."

Saturday's schedule starts at 8:30 a.m. The most contested races, said Cohn, will go from about noon until 4 p.m.

Sunday morning, the racers will swing back onto their bikes for the team time trial at Jimmy DeLoach Parkway. Immediately after that event is over, the cyclists will gather on Hutchinson Island for a circuit race along what's left of a former IndyCar-type racetrack.

That course features a long straightaway along what was once pit row, and also throws in several tight curves.

Monday morning the final event, a road race, will take place near Nevils, a small community off Interstate 16. Points gained at that ride will decide the overall competition.

Arnette is excited about the 2006 event's potential to entertain and draw a big crowd.

"Savannah is a great place for bike races," he said in an e-mail interview, "and with so many venues to race, we were looking for a date that could accommodate more events."